The power of mediation
Mediation involves bringing in a third party who is supposed to be neutral to spearhead the process of ending a dispute between conflicting individuals or groups (Marshall, 2018).
Summary
According to (Marshall, 2018) conflicts are inevitable to occur. However, the essential thing that individuals and organizations ought to do is to come up with robust methods of handling these conflicts. In an organizational and societal setting, conflicts are bound to happen because of the diversity of views and opinions. Successful organizations are known to have proper frameworks of handling conflicts emerging between their employees or the management to avoid any significant adverse effects on themselves. Mediation is one of the most commonly used methods when it comes to conflict resolution among individuals.The technique is mistaken to be informal and straightforward, but it involves several key steps that must be followed for a conflict to be resolved successfully. A key advantage of mediation is that it makes the conflicting parties come to the point of understanding each other and a win-win situation. Additionally, mediation is a less costly method of resolving conflicts compared to litigation methods that are expensive since people have to get good lawyers to represent them.
Discussion
It is of paramount importance for organizations and individuals to adopt the right methods of resolving conflicts to avoid their escalation that can have serious negative consequences. Since conflicts are inevitable, the level of preparedness of individuals, organizations, and societies to handle disputes is very paramount in determining the outcome of the conflicts likely to happen. Mediation is one of the most effective methods that is used by organizations and individuals to resolve disputes. However, what are the steps to be followed when using mediation as a method of conflict resolution? The following are the key steps to be followed when using mediation. First, the mediator must make an opening statement. In this, the mediator introduces everyone, explains the objectives of the mediation, and urges everyone to cooperate to make the process successful. The next step involves each of the conflicting parties, making their statements without being interrupted. The third step involves a joint discussion where the mediator acts as a moderator. In this, the conflicting parties are encouraged to respond to each other’s opening statements too. This step helps in explaining the key issues affecting the conflicting parties. The fourth step involves private caucuses where each of the parties gets an opportunity of meeting the mediator privately and solving his problems. This helps the mediator to have a deeper understanding of the various issues that each party is having hence able to come up with an idea of how to come to a conclusion that will make both of them satisfied. The fifth step involves joint negotiations where the mediator brings both parties together and talk directly concerning the conflict at hand. This is rare since bringing the parties together without any solution at6 hand cam escalate the problem to something bigger. The last step is closure. If the mediation process makes each party agree, then the mediator can put the provisions in writing, and both parties are supposed to sign the agreement. In a similar vein, if an agreement is not reached, the mediator is supposed to help the parties determine if the negotiations can be done later or be continued via phone.
References
Marshall, T. (2018). The power of mediation. Mediation Quarterly, 8(2), 115-124. doi: 10.1002/crq.3900080204